The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 373

Quinn looked equally bewildered. "I have no idea."

Penelope and Pierce walked toward them.

Pierce looked at Riley, his eyes soft. "Riley, you must be tired from the flight. Why don't you head inside, get something to eat, and rest for a bit? The ceremony starts at three."

Riley stared at him in confusion. "Why are you here?"

Penelope was completely puzzled. "Mr. Landon, didn't you say Riley already knew about this?"

"I wanted to give her a surprise," Pierce said smoothly. He then turned back to Riley. "Let's talk inside." With that, he led the way toward the building.

Riley walked up to Penelope. "What exactly is going on here?"

"A while ago, Mr. Landon reached out to me, offering to donate supplies to the orphanage," Penelope explained, pointing toward a brand-new outdoor playground in the distance. "He had all of that installed."

Riley followed her gaze. There were slides, swings, climbing nets, seesaws, spring riders, and balance beams—a fully equipped outdoor playground.

Penelope continued, "All the furniture inside was also purchased by Mr. Landon. He organized today's ceremony as well. He told me you knew about all of this, so I..."

She paused, looking at Riley with guilt. "Did I do something wrong? Did I cause you trouble?"

Riley had no idea how Pierce had found out she bought this orphanage, nor did she know what his endgame was. But... "It's fine. It's a voluntary donation. It's not like anyone forced him to do it."

When they reached the reception room, Penelope stopped at the door. "You two talk. I'll go check on the children."

Riley nodded.

Quinn looked at her. "Do you want me to stay?"

"No, you go with Penelope to check on the kids."

Quinn nodded and walked away with Penelope.

Riley stepped into the room. All the furniture inside was brand new, made of high-quality materials—practical but understated. It was obvious a lot of thought had gone into it.

Pierce's gaze swept over the room. "I hired a custom furniture designer specifically for this space. You can go take a look at the children's rooms later. All the edges and corners on the furniture have been rounded off, and the chairs have padded, anti-collision edges. It's completely safe."

Riley walked right up to him. "How did you know I bought this orphanage?"

The last time Pierce went to Statenbury, he had looked into Riley and Elaine's police station fiasco. That was how he learned Riley had spent her entire divorce settlement on buying an orphanage. When he returned to Riverport, he verified the purchase, which led to all of this.

Seeing that she had accepted it, Pierce gave a faint smile. "Penelope already thanked me. Do you want to rest, or do you want to look around?"

"I'll take a look around first." This place was going to be the children's new home, and it was her home as well. With the new building finished, she naturally couldn't wait to explore it.

"I'll walk with you, and I can walk you through the schedule for the ceremony while we're at it."

"Okay."

They left the room together.

Riley inspected every corner of the orphanage, her heart swelling with genuine joy. The environment was beautiful, the furniture was perfect, and finally, no one would ever be able to kick the children out again.

She didn't rest, opting instead to go play with the children. On such a joyous day, how could she possibly sleep?

She took countless photos of the building and the kids having the time of their lives on the playground, planning to share them with Sebastian later that night.

At three o'clock, the ceremony began in the courtyard.

Pierce had handled all the arrangements, and the setup was quite grand. However, the actual process was refreshingly simple. The only people in attendance were them, the children, and the construction foreman. There were no government officials or media personnel.